My Little WindUp Doll
by Black Demon543
Summary: AU - When Lloyd needs a job to sustain himself after his father's death, is he really desperate enough to allow himself to be ordered around by everyone's favorite red-head? LloydxZelos
1. Default Chapter

A/n: Hiyo everyone 3 this is my new current...well...kinda...obsession. I suppose the rating is just to be safe for now, though it might go down XD maybe not. This is my first attempt at a Tales of Symphonia story, so please notify me if the characters are...a bit out of character o.o; yeah. 'n stuff. So, this contains boysluff and junk, some swearing...yadda yadda...read and review! n.n

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine o.O and yeah. You get the point.

My Little Wind-Up Doll

Chapter one, See User Manual For Instructions

"In the time of depression, people had trouble finding jobs..." explained the silver-haired teacher, ignoring the fact that a few choice students had already fallen asleep during her lecture. It was a normal occurance. One student, resembling the teacher, happened to be glaring at one such person, still taking notes automatically as he did so. The male had learned how to appear like he was awake, when in reality...he was hardly ever in this class. The textbook was propped up on his desk, and locks of brown fell into his eyes to hide the fact that they were shut. Not like the teacher cared, but...

"Lloyd!" hissed the little silver-haired boy, using his pencil to prod at his friend without standing out too much. "Wake up!" After moments of fruitless efforts, he finally got the fellow's twin orbs of chocolate brown to flicker open, and a slurred, "what?" to escape his lips. Everyone in the classroom burst out laughing, and the teacher only glared.

"That's the fifth time this week, Lloyd! Can't you ever keep your eyes open and your mouth shut? Some of the students here are actually interested in learning." More snickers were heard around the room, causing Lloyd's ears to turn pink with shame and embarrassement.

"Sorry...it won't happen again..." he mumbled, silently going on in his head about how it wasn't his fault he couldn't find himself a job, and ended up not getting any sleep because of all the searching he did. No one knew about it, yet...but...his father had passed away, and now he had to support himself. There was no way he could tell anyone...they'd send him to an orphanage, because he was only seventeen, and then...he shook his head, propping his cheek up on his elbow. He had to find work to support himself.

That being their final period, he snatched up his backpack, shoving everything on his desk into it, and hurried out of the school, not bothering to visit his locker for any books he might need to either pick up or drop off. It was a long walk back to his house, so he didn't want to miss the bus. It was raining today as well, dark clouds spilling their burden upon the shoulders of those below them. Maybe that contributed to the tired feeling he had. The gel he spent so much time putting in his hair every morning had washed out, causing his hair to hang around his head. Surprisingly, it reached his shoulders. Perhaps he should cut it, he thought blandly to himself, watching the rain hit the already deepened puddles to cause ripplettes. His red button-up shirt clung to his torso pathetically and caused him to shiver, and if he had thought his plain brown pants had been clingy before...

He hurried along on his way, the bus stop within sight. Of course, he had to be studying some other item when something solid came out of no where and ran right into him, causing him to fall backwards on his bottom, right into a puddle. Unluckily, his back pack opened up, and everything was soaked. Growling, he noticed the culprit had fallen as well, and long red locks were in their face as they muttered curses.

"Watch where you're going," Lloyd was the first to say, glaring. They were wearing much pink, and the outfit looked expensive...so was it a girl? He was startled when sharp blue eyes upon a man's face turned to him, slightly narrowed, but in a refined, "I'm better than you" manner.

"I should be?" he questioned, his voice cultured, yet with that hint of modern male...male-ness. What did you call that kind of thing? "You were the one that ran into me. It isn't /my/ fault that you have to spend all your time daydreaming, instead of actually getting laid, seeing as you obviously cannot."

That surprised him enough to leave him gaping for a moment, and when he had finally regained enough composure to part his lips and prepare to speak...he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that his bus was leaving. "God fucking damnit! Look what you did! I missed my bus!" Groaning, he began to pick up the sopping wet remnants of the contents of his backpack, placing them into the equally soaked container. There was no way he could afford to spend the money on new supplies...

"Quit making that annoying noise. It grates on my ears." he rolled his eyes, pulling himself to his feet in such a graceful way that it almost left the brunette breathless. That was kind of the only reason he shut up and sat there silently like a good boy, eyes filled with slight shame. "It just so happens that I was going to my car when you rudely ran into me. Perhaps if you apologize nicely and give me your name, I'll take you home."

Sighing heavily, he was about to pull himself to his feet when a black and pink gloved hand was offered to him. As his eyes trailed up the arm to meet those of this red-head, the fellow merely upturned his nose a bit more, looking extremely arrogant. "You look pathetic. I can't help myself."

Growling, he continued to pull himself up, slapping the hand away with the dull thought of "what a bastard". "Fine. I'm sorry. My name is Lloyd Irving."

"I see, Lloyd Irving. You're quite the rude one, smacking my hand like the little brute you are. Come along. How old are you?" he began walking, each step graceful and planned. Lloyd felt kind of silly walking next to him. This guy was also fairly tall...he felt dwarfed by him.

"Seventeen..." he murmured without giving much of a fight. It was hard to /not/ listen to this guy's orders. He just had a kind of power about him.

"You're pretty young, then. A bit older than my first estimate, but still..." Lloyd had wanted to comment, with something arrogant most likely, but was cut off as they reached this car of his. It looked more like a freaking house on wheels. "Here we are. Sadly, my chauffer was busy today, so I've been driving. Normally I take one of the sport's cars when she can't work, but I felt like being even more of a show off." he smirked, looking at the brunette's dumbstruck face. "It appears it worked, no?"

The drive was fairly uneventful. The mysterious red-head cursed at a few random people, namly pedestrians, that got in his way and made him slow down, but otherwise...they didn't say much. He never introduced himself, and Lloyd was left wondering how old this guy was...and why he thought so highly of himself. Where did he get all the money, too? They stopped in front of Lloyd's little house, the one story one with the crooked front door and broken window, painted an icky off-white color. Blue eyes blinked in confusion.

"You sure this is your home, twerp?" he asked, one gracefully plucked red eyebrow raising slightly. This milked a glare out of the brunette.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Not everyone is filthy rich and crap."

"Well, excuuuuuse me. I was just asking a question." he didn't bother to say good-bye, or even look at Lloyd as he got out of the car and shut the door. He did, however, roll down the window. "Next time if you run into me, you won't be in my car, but under it." he added before zooming off, spraying Lloyd with dirty water. Coughing, he wiped as much of it as he could off his face before hurrying into the house, cursing at that mysterious guy.

"What a freaking jerk," he hissed as he tossed his backpack up on the table, storming off to his tiny little room. Once inside, he slammed the door...and then turned to look at his dresser, where a picture of his dad sat. "'m home, dad..." his attitude melted off as he sat on the bed, watching the picture for a while. Thus, he began to tell his "father" about his day, and finally drifted off to sleep for the night.

The next day went on much like the other, only it wasn't raining this time, and instead of meeting up with a strange red-head...he only thought about him every moment. That silver-haired friend of his had heard the story fifty times, and had gotten sick enough of it to go hang out with someone else. Which never happened. So he took the bus home like usual, listening to his headphones the entire way...and still only thinking of that guy. It annoyed the hell out of him. Finally, when he got home, he grabbed the newspaper and carried it in, already flipping to the job section.

"Nothing, nothing, stupid...squat...wait, what's this?" he questioned to himself, cocking his head to one side as he read the ad, slowly, over again. Even out loud. "Wanted, a dedicated young person willing to work any hours. Must have good serving skills, as the job ranges from a butler, a maid, a servant, or just a playmate...?" he blinked a few times. "The address is," he memorized that part, but found no reason to say it aloud. "Ask for Zelos Wilder. Hey, I can do that! Dad! I have a job!" Okay, so he didn't have one yet, but he knew that he could get it. Running into his room, he picked out the best outfit he had. It was a simple white button-up collar shirt and a pair of black jeans that looked enough like slacks to pass. Hey, he wasn't made of money, you know. Where as it might have been better to wait until tomorrow after school, he hurried off to catch a bus that he knew would stop near this neighborhood. He had been to the rich neighborhood once when he had taken some rich twit named Collette out on a date. They hadn't seen each other since.

Aside from a few stares from people on the bus, it was another one of those uneventful rides that you just...don't feel like describing. So he got there in once piece and fixed his hair a bit as he approached the door, clearing his throat as well. Almost immedietally after knocking did some scary looking butler person answer the door. "May I help you, sir?" asked the butler. Swallowing tightly, Lloyd nodded.

"I-is Zelos Wilder in?" he managed, turning his eyes downward.

"Why do you need to speak with Master Zelos?" This guy was really creepy. His face hardly moved at all when he talked, and he portrayed no emotion. Was this what was going to be expected of him.

"Back off, Greg! I put an ad in the newspaper asking for some new recruits." Came a familiar voice from the huge hollow within this massive castle. It wasn't a house, oh no. It was indeed a castle. Guess who came to the door then? Yes, it was indeed our red-head, all spruced up and handsome looking...with only a robe on. So he had been taking a bath before now? Lloyd didn't know why that question had come to mind.

"Oh. It's you. How'd you find out where I lived?" He didn't look too excited now. Strangely enough, he also didn't sound nearly as refined. Maybe he didn't have to at home?

"I came to see a Zelos Wilder, not you." he countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're staring at him, kid." was his dull response.

"So you put the ad in the newspaper!" shock obviously filled his face, because Zelos laughed.

"'course I did. Don't tell me you were answering that thing. I only recruit girls." But, for some reason, he softened slightly when Lloyd looked down, shame once more evident in his chocolate pools, giving him that puppy dog look. "Why would someone your age be looking for a job? Don't you have parents to mooch off of?" Like before, he raised an eyebrow, though didn't mention the size of his house. Was this out of pity?

"I...I do! I just want to build responsibility!" he exclaimed, eyes hardening as he looked up again, fists clenched. "I came here to get a job, and that's what I'm going to do! I may not be a girl, but I can do any task you ask of me, and I can work all hours! I'll even drop out of school!" Zelos put up his hands as if to stop the berade of reasons why he should get the job.

"Hold on there. Let's just take a sec and look at this for a moment. From the little I know about you, you don't seem to give a shit about responsibility," Lloyd flushed, "and you really aren't cut out for serving people." Distress filled his face, and he made to protest. Zelos held up his hand as a signal for him to be quiet. "I ain't saying that I'm not going to let you work for me. I really do need some new recruits. 'm just thinking that it's kind of weird for someone your age to actually want a job. However, if you are going to become one of my servants, I can't have you telling lies, now can I? So why don't you give me the truth, and I'll consider it?"

This guy was awfully cocky and sure of himself, but he really needed this...swallowing, he hung his head. "My father passed away, and I won't tell anyone because then they'll take me away from my home and my friends and pawn me off to some loser. I need money to support myself, and this is the only job in the paper I qualify for."

Now it wasn't often that Zelos found himself surprised by any such thing, but in this situation, his blue eyes hand widened, and he wrapped a delicate (and ungloved, for once) hand around a lock of red hair, his lower lip becoming trapped between both sets of teeth.

"Hey...I'm sorry, ki- Lloyd, was it? Now that I think about it, perhaps we have a job for you...why don't you come in?" he offered, managing a slight smile. Cheering up, he lifted his head, eyes slightly curious, but did not object. He entered after Zelos and heard the scary butler close the door behind them. "You can be my squire. All you have to do is follow me around everywhere, and do whatever I tell you to. In return, I'll allow you to sleep in a bed in my room, eat beside me at my table, and all around live here. However, I can't have you going to school anymore. It takes up too much time." Stopping, he turned around to look at the brunette, whom had froze, and was gaping.

"No more school! And I don't even get paid? How'll I keep the house! How-" One finger pressed against his lips, shocking him into silence.

"You'll be moving in with me. So chill, 'kay? You have tonight to pack and such, and I expect you here early tomorrow."

"But...my friends at school..." Lloyd turned his head to remove the fingers from his lips, eyes looking elsewhere.

"Starting now I'm like your guardian. I expect you to listen to me, whether I'm giving a command or not. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, Lloyd." he gave a grin, and even winked, which made the brunette feel as if he already regretted this, and the feeling stayed as he walked all the way home.

A/n: You like? p I sure hope you do. Leave a review, and hopefully I'll get started on that next chapter...XD


	2. How Many Turns Before it Snaps?

A/n: Thank you soooooo much for all the pretty reviews TT they made me so happy n.n so I managed to finish this in time! Love it! I worked my butt off the night before to get this done / I hope you like it. I'd say this chapter lives up to the ratings XD; so yeah. Use caution. If you like yaoi, then...o.o juicy tidbits for ya. As a reward for reviewing so quickly X3

Answers to the reviews!

(because I love you all, and want you to feel like you're friends with me cuz you are I shall reply to every review I get! yay!)

Noriko Sakuma - Thank you so much for the review! 3 This chapter may not be so cute XD but trust me, I love fluff just as much as the next person.

Sunkiss - I love them together X3 snicker better on the sheets then in a homphobe house. p Yes, and about the father thing...doesn't matter o.O for all we know, they could have been dressing up as one another and taking turns watching Lloyd, and then gotten shot together or something.

Derangedskies - Yay 3 I luff j00 too n.n;;; and is this soon enough?

Lord X - sorry :x but yeah. That's kinda what I have in mind to happen XD if you don't feel like continuing to read the updates, I can understand, and thank yu for at least doing me the favor of reading my first chapter. I warn you that this chapter might not be the best for you to read.

Cami of queenscove - Hee 3 thank you! And yes v.v Zelos is so top. Many of my friends seem to think that Lloyd should be o.o; enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Again. I wish they were my bishies, because then I'd make them do X-rated things XP;

Chapter two, How Many Turns Before it Snaps?

Six fifteen on the nose was he found standing there, kinda just watching the doorbell with drooping eyes. Two large suitcases were by his sides, and he wore a simple black t-shirt with, "How many licks do you think it takes?" in big white letters, with a picture of a lollipop sticking out of some guy's pants. I think we all get the message there. A pair of baggy forest green cargo pants - much like the ones on the shirt - covered his legs. And his shoes. Even if one wouldn't think such from the shirt, it was indeed our little Lloyd.

When the butler opened the door, he did seem to study the shirt for a moment, but quickly moved out of the brunette's way, holding the door open respectfully. "Ah, good day little Master Lloyd. Master Zelos has been awaiting your arrival. He had ordered coffee for you both, and sits now in the garden. Before you visit him, however, I believe you should change into your new uniform..." Wow. They were really organized here. "You'll find that in the bathroom right over there."

After a moment of searching he found the bathroom of which the butler had been speaking of. Inside was a fancy matching set; a bathtub, a toilet, and a sink, and not to mention a bench-like thing covered in silks and velvets. Upon this was the outfit, and he freaked out when he spotted it. It happened to be, in fact, the maid's uniform. And this one wasn't very modest, let me tell you. Piece by piece he seperated the clothing, eyes large and mouth dropped open to gape. By gosh it was too early for this. A black satin collar outlined in white lace with a white bit of ribbon, pretied to make a bow in front covered about an inch of neck, and even had a little black chain go down the chest to where there was supposedly cleavage, and on the end of this little bit was a fancy heart tag, with his name already inscribed in it.

Following the costume further, the neckline plunged down pretty low and the top was made to cling to his torso...especially the gentle slope of his hips. The curve was accented with more white lace, along with the sleeves, and the flare of the top tail was lengthened by white net that showed off the dip in the waist of the miniskirt. Long black gloves were supposed to go on his hands, the end of the gloves reaching just pass his elbows. If only the skirt could be that long. Of course, there were white stockings that went from an inch past his knee all the way down...into black mary janes. Even the little apron thing that went over the front of the skirt seemed a bit shorter than it could be. It was pretty, however, lined with lace, and containing a little pocket...that was also lined in lace. The black string that wrapped around his waist to tie it on became thicker as it reached the ends, obviously made for tying a big, pretty, flowing bow behind one's back.

It took a bit for him to get into it, but once he was...he wanted out. However, the butler had decided to check up on him, and led him outside to the garden. In the center of the beautiful arrangements and walkways was a wooden table, decorated to try and look like as if it had been made from one of the oaks surrounding it. Already upon it was an adorable china set, of which two cups contained a steaming substance he knew to be coffee. He couldn't wait.

Our lovable red-head was sitting in one of the comfortable looking chairs, wearing some form of silken pajamas. In one hand was the paper, and the other held the cup of coffee belonging to him. Finishing his sentence, he looked up, placed his paper and coffee on the table, and clapped appreciatively.

"You wear it well," he said with a sly grin. "If your chest wasn't so flat, I'd think you were a girl. Just, the hair needs to be done, but..." he shrugged.

"This is the first, and last time I'm wearing this thing." Lloyd hissed, crossing his arms over his chest in pitiful attempts to hide himself.

"Oh come now! You only have to wear it here. Now sit, I have danishes and muffins that we can chat over. This is an easy day for you, because you're just learning."

Momentarily did he wonder if he could even accomplish such a thing, being as the skirt was so short, but he'd rather not get kicked out on the streets, so took a seat across from the red-head. The skirt did ride up, and he had to force himself from cursing and blushing. Instead he took the cheese danish that was offered to him by Zelos himself, one of those slender red eyebrows raising slightly.

"Very good. Now enjoy breakfast, and then we can begin." Just as he went to pick up his paper again, an even more skimpily clad girl wandered over to him, and draped her arms around his neck. "Ah...if you'll excuse me. I expect to see you finished and willing to follow my orders when I return."

"Master Zelos, is he a new toy of yours? He's so cute...we should show him a good time together," she purred, licking her master's ear. Lloyd twitched visibly.

"Hunny, you know I don't play with boys. Even if he is delicious, he's my little orphan servant, and I couldn't traumatize the poor little thing on his first day." laughing, the older male only grinned at Lloyd's harsh glare and red cheeks.

"Aw, alright...if that's what you want, Master Zelos."

They both left, leaving the poor brunette to curse at Zelos, saying things about how stupid and ugly he was...while sipping at the coffee and gnawing on his pastries. Even the emotionless butler, whom stood in one of the pathways that led off back to the mansion, gave a bit of a chuckle. "That one's going to change Master Zelos," he mused to himself, shaking his head.

When finally his master returned, Lloyd was inspecting the garden, as if finally seeing it for the first time. All the flowers seemed exotic to him, with their blossoms fully opened and aromas carrying him into a near-sleep stage. His large pools of chocolate were half-shut, and he didn't notice that he was giving Zelos a full view of everything underneath his tiny skirt. What other way was there to smell and stroke the pretty flowers? Finally, amused beyond reason, Zelos cleared his throat. Straightening immedietally, Lloyd looked over his shoulder at said red-head.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming..." he rubbed the back of his head, turning to face Zelos fully. Snide remarks were almost given to the brunette, but instead a smile was tossed carelessly his way.

"I know you didn't." the smile turned into a grin, and for a moment Lloyd didn't understand the other meaning behind that. When he did, however, he quite resembled a cherry.

"Bastard! Cut it out! I didn't mean that, and you know it! Stop being such a-" he was cut off when a hand, gently yet with a firm grip, grabbed his jaw, forcing him to fall silent, and to look at the male whom had done so. Intense blue eyes sent a shiver down his spine, and he found himself nibbling on his lower lip.

"It's time to quit playing around and get to today's work. Come with me." Such a drastic change had occured over the period of a few seconds, and Lloyd found himself watching the ground as he followed Zelos. No other comments came to his lips, and he felt awfully helpless.

Moving into the towering entrance hall, he found his brown eyes studying the portraits and tapistries, showing off stories of Zelos' ancestors. Yanked out of his little daydream-like state by the very red-head himself, he automatically snapped to attention.

"See this bucket full of water? You'll be using this, along with this mop, to clean every floor in the house. Normally this is the maid's job, but I need her for other matters...when you're finished with that, return to my room for further instructions." the tone of voice he used scared him, and it was all he could do to snatch up the mop from the butler and hurry along with the job. Boy, his arms were going to cramp tonight...

The maid called for Zelos, and his mood lightened slightly with the smirk upon his lips. "I expect no slacking off from you, Lloyd. Maybe I'll reward you if you do well." what a strange guy. But he had left on that note, and Lloyd could only glare weakly at Zelos' back. Why that slimy little...though he had agreed to this, and if he didn't want to be tossed out onto the street, he knew it was his duty to do whatever was asked of him.

Countless hours and tile floors later, he finally collapsed on the floor of his master's room, aching all over and more tired than he'd ever been before. He didn't even notice the sound of the door opening, and then closing, followed by footsteps. That was why he was startled when a hand yanked him to his feet.

"I never said you could slack off, but thanks for the peak under your skirt." Oh boy...did he ever recognize that voice. Flushing violently, he spun around, and couldn't stop himself from raising a hand and forcing it in the direction of Zelos' cheek. However, he found it caught in an iron grip that was meant to keep his hand stationary, but not break it in the process. Wincing anyway, he attempted to pull it loose. "Would you really hit me? I took you off the street, and I can easily throw you back." it made him pause, breathing heavily with narrowed eyes. "Chill. I have plenty of bondage equipment to use on you if you decide to disobey me again. There are worse things than living on the street."

"Bastard..." Lloyd hissed in reply, all around regretting his decision to work here. Not with this guy...now with all these horrible tasks...

"Save that energy for your next job. I want you to go fetch the mail." Was it already that late? That was easy enough, he thought, so wrenched his wrist free and moved towards the door, when he was grabbed again and his earlobe was nipped. "Don't you dare turn your back on me like that," he whispered into Lloyd's ear...but let him go anyway. "You aren't dismissed until I say you are. But I suppose now you can go."

Grumbling, he rubbed at his ear, trying to forget the shivers that had coarsed through his entire body at the nibble. It was easy enough to find his way back to the door, as surprising as that may sound, but he did so, and hurried to the mailbox to snatch up its contents. Making his way back, he contemplated the strange behaviour of Zelos. One moment, so easy going...the next, so hard and cold...why? When he returned to Zelos' room, the red-head was sitting upon his bed, filing his nails. Looking up, those eyes narrowed.

"Don't bring me the mail!" he yelled, standing at his full height.

"But you said-"  
"Not the mail you idiot...the mail _truck_!" a hand struck him across the face, much as he himself had been attempting to do to Zelos. Stars clouded his vision, and he even felt his eyes grow wet with tears as he sat on the floor where he had fallen from the blow, clutching his throbbing cheek. "Don't let it happen again! Now, go get me the mail truck!" Anger rose in his throat, and he felt that familiar urge to rebel against the orders thrown at him. Sometimes his father had been like this. Instead of letting the anger burn inside him, which would eventually lead to becoming soully focused on said anger, he let it chill over.

"Fine. I'll go get your damn mail truck." he replied in a dangerously calm tone of voice as he managed to clamber to his feet, storming off before Zelos could dismiss him, or grab him and punish him for not waiting for such dismissal.

Many such tasks filled the rest of the evening, leading all the way up to a very specifically requested dinner, which ended up all over the floor near his feet, and his ears still rung from all the yelling. So it hadn't been perfect...now he lay, curled up on the floor with a simple blanket tossed over his body, nude because he hadn't been given any pajamas, and because he didn't want to sleep in that infernal maid's outfit, feeling utterly miserable. But he wouldn't allow himself to cry. No, he'd face it like a man. And then he fell asleep.

Woken up by the prodding of a certain red-head, his chocolate brown eyes slowly flickered open. Gosh...had it been so chilly when he went to sleep? Sitting up, he stretched and yawned.

"Lloyd, did you sleep well?" Zelos asked, an innocent smile upon his face.

"Um...yeah?" he offered, raising an eyebrow. What was up with him today? He was even more surprised when that smile turned into an evil smirk.

"I'm glad. It must've been so comfortable sleeping on the floor in nothing. If that was the way you wanted to sleep, I would've been happy to have you in my bed." That's when he noticed that in Zelos' hand was the same blanket he had slept under. And then he understood why it was so cold.

"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!" Was heard throughout the entire house as the brunette attempted to snatch up the blanket, failing miserably. Zelos only laughed, tossing it away and pouncing on the smaller boy, pinning him down.

"You got it, hunny," he replied in a teasing tone of voice, tongue flickering over one of Lloyd's nipples, making him emit a strangled sort of squeal. One hand had been moving towards an area inbetween those thighs when one of his many girls entered through the door.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" she asked, seeming unphazed by the entire scene.

"Naw, I was just waking up my new little servant." he clambered off of Lloyd and brushed himself off, not bothering to look at the brunette at all. "Lloyd, go downstairs and start up breakfast. Greg knows what I like, so just ask him. I expect it to be perfect, unlike dinner last night."

Not only did he feel utterly embarrassed and stripped of his modesty and dignity, but now he was boiling mad as he snatched up the maid's outfit beside his little spot on the floor and hurried off to the bathroom to change. Stupid Zelos...he'd get that breakfast alright...shoved right up his ass! But he knew that he couldn't do this, and sighed dejectedly as he made his way downstairs to ask Greg about that breakfast. What kind of whacky orders were in store for him today?

A/n: Ta da! XP too...iffy? Please tell me what you think TT I tried so hard for you guys! I hope you like the juicy bits I added XD; take care until next time!


	3. Springs Can Snap

A/n: Oh. My. God. x.x you know how much I had to rush to finish this for you all? XD I did it just now, and rushed through it so that I could enter it in. The normal updating date, tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to update v.v and I didn't want you all to be disappointed! Better early than late, right? 3 you all aren't complaining, are you?

Noriko -'m uber glad you liked the last chapter n.n; more nummy perverted Zelos bits in this one. It gets more and more intense XD; sorry you can't log in x I hope you get that all figured out!

Sirhcnotilih -Thank you it really isn't /that/ good, though. More like from a 3.87 to a 4.56 maybe X3 if I'm lucky. Of course I'd love to see the pictures! You can either send them by e-mail, or if you have AIM, I'd be happy if you dropped me a line asking for my SN...via e-mail sweatdrop either way, send me an e-mail! Now, about a rape lemon...as much as they are very nice to read, I'm actually trying to make this one more romantic and meaningful / even if it doesn't seem like it right now. Maybe I'll write one and include it as a bonus chapter.

Shimagenki -Shimagenki-sama! o.o It's a pleasure to hear from you! I happen to be a fan of your stories as well! XD I'm just evil and mean and never review! I'm very honored that you like it 3 please, enjoy this chapter, and write more of your own stories! n.n;

Derangedseal -I'm glad you managed to reply to this chapter as well! X3 Yes, I know Zelos is mean. He's kind of doing it for a reason, but he does change. You can kind of see that in this chapter. Of course, I'm not a professional ; and the difference between myself and a professional would be that they know how to make everything click together so nicely XD and I don't. Enjoy the yumminess, anyway! Even if I can't make a very good plot with twists and all that, I can write the kinky stuff! XP

Warning: This chapter gets a bit more intense than the last one n.n; if you don't mind, then enjoy!

Chapter three, Springs Can Snap

For most of that day Zelos was busy, spending time with his many girls, and hardly ever giving orders to Lloyd. But when he did, they were incredibly pointless and back-breaking, seemingly getting harder with each one. During one of his many breaks that day, he noticed that his stuff hadn't been in Zelos' room, and went to talk to the red-head himself about it. He missed the picture of his dad. Luckily he was in his room, and wasn't with one of the girls for once, so that when he opened the door he didn't end up seeing anything that...would have scarred him.

"Zelos, I need to talk to you." he began, frowning a bit and putting his hands on his hips. Zelos looked up from the random porn magazine he was reading, and raised one eyebrow.

"'bout what, hunny?" he asked in an idle tone of voice as he chucked the magazine back into his towering stack. It didn't matter where it landed, because he would make Lloyd fix them up later. That's what servants were for.

"Don't call me that! And, I want to know where my stuff is." crossing his arms over his chest, Zelos almost purred in delight at the pose.

"Oh, I had Greg throw them away. Figured all the things in there had no value, anyway." With such a casual tone, he might have been talking about taking out the trash. But this wasn't trash! This was the remains of his family, and the few things he had loved with all his heart! Something was going to snap, he knew it! That was just too much!

"You fucking bastard! How could you throw away my stuff! How the hell could you be so inconsiderate! You get it back! You fucking get my stuff back!" the brunette had pounced on Zelos, and attempted to punch him, but winded up pinned under the red-head with a handprint across his poor, abused cheek.

"I'll do what I feel like doing, Lloyd. I am your guardian now, remember that! I'll decide what you need and don't need, and I won't have you acting like a brat and showing me no respect!"

"You think that for one moment I would show a monster like you respect! You don't even treat me like a human being! How the fuck could I respect you!" No matter how much his cheek stung, and how his eyes watered with the pain, he kept on fighting, and even tried to dodge the next slap.

"Ungrateful! You are in no place to say that! I cloth you, I allow you to eat with me at my table, and exactly what I eat at that! I put this roof over your head, and it is quite a nice roof, if you haven't noticed! It could be much worse, Lloyd darling! I suggest you gain a little bit of a brain and acknowledge these things before you lose them!" With that, he climbed off the brunette and battered him with all sorts of commands, obviously in punishment for rebelling. They all seemed to have no meaning whatsoever, and yet, if he didn't do them perfectly, he got slapped like before. Move the pile of horse manuer twenty yards that way, and then remove the grass, only to put it all back in, make a complicated feast, and then throw it all away, only to make it again to feed to the dogs. This was only the beginning of the list, however. He was not allowed to get to sleep until way past midnight, and he collapsed immedietally without bothering to take off the maid's outfit.

Over the next three days or so the schedule was a lot of the same kind of thing. Random and tedious tasks that resulted in nothing gained at all from doing so. He found his cheek being smacked most of the time, because he couldn't do them perfectly, either. Dinner had to be perfect, or he had to make it again, and then it turned out that Zelos already ate. Outfits had to be laid out for him the morning, even if he decided that he wanted something else, no matter how he liked the outfit presented on that day. If anything in his room was out of place, it was Lloyd's fault, no matter how often he left his own clothing on the floor, or didn't throw out trash, and hardly ever put back his magazines in the very order he told Lloyd to place them in. Which was quite a difficult thing to do, because Zelos came up with the most strange ways of organizing them. If the grarden happened to be not to his liking, the Lloyd spent a long time putting in new flowers and cutting hedges and all sorts of tasks, only to have Zelos go out with one of his ladies and never step foot in the garden for the entire day. His dignity had been chewed up and spat out, and his fighting spirit was dampened considerably. Most of the time he silently begged Zelos not to hit him again, while at the same time he wanted to beat the crud out of him.

Finally it was nightime, and he plopped down on the floor to get some sleep, when suddenly he heard that voice he had learned to utterly despise.

"Lloyd, strip off your clothing and get in bed with me." Now, this had never happened before...and it also went much too far for the brunette, as he growled in his throat and pulled the blankets around him. Now he knew to sleep in his maid's outfit, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

"No way you pervert! I'll do no such thing!" Over the past few days it had been getting harder and harder for him to decline an order, because he was worried about getting smacked. Already was his cheek red, and had even bled once. Zelos seemed to care then, as he had hurried to get bandages, but never had he said sorry.

"I'm ordering you to do something. Do it now, or I'll be forced to hit you." That sent a jolt of fear down his spine, and a jolt of pain along his cheek. But there was no way he could do that...it was just...no! Not saying anything else, he lay there on the floor with his eyes clenched shut. Hearing the bed creak as the red-head climbed off of it, fear began to fill him to the overflowing point, and he almost trembled as footsteps drew close. Instead of a slap across the cheek, however, a hand gripped his crotch, and pulled a bit upwards. Knowing very well that it was to warn him, not hurt him. Standing up with a silent sigh, he couldn't help but admit that it was slightly pleasurable, the way that the grip was firm, yet gentle so as not to hurt him. It was making him slightly aroused, and he mentally cursed himself as that organ began to stir. But he wasn't given too long to worry about it, as his clothing was being stripped off his body. Embarrassement filled his cheeks, and his eyes began to fill up. How could this be happening? He was led to the bed, and didn't know why exactly, but climbed onto it with a sniff. Feeling the mattress sink a little as Zelos joined him, he was almost surprised that he wasn't groping him or something. But no. Not caring if the red-head heard him or not, the tears began to flow as if someone had turned on a faucet, and he couldn't help himself. Little sobs escaped his throat as he clung to one of the many pillows, ignoring everything else. However, it didn't take too long for an arm to wrap around his bare waist, and a familiar voice to whisper into his ear tenderly as he was pulled against a strong chest. It didn't matter that it was the cause of this pain that was comforting him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, so gently and in such an understanding tone of voice that he almost began crying harder. Words catching in his throat for a moment, he took a moment to catch his breath.

"I've lost...everything...even my dignity. I can't...I can't stand it...I don't want to be hit anymore, I don't want to do pointless jobs that cause me suffering...I don't want to be humiliated...I want to die...!" Aside from the sobs there was silence and Zelos didn't move. Slowly, though, he turned Lloyd around to face him, blue eyes full of compassion.

"No...don't say that...please don't...and stop crying, please..." An incredibly warm and soft tongue removed the tears from his cheeks, leaving him speechless once more, and even gaping slightly. Those lips guarding the tongue even pressed lightly against his own, just as gentle as those words, and he didn't try going further, either. Pulling away after a few seconds, he found his breath taken away, and was entranced.

"I'm sorry. I never wanted to make you cry." With those words echoing in his mind, he fell asleep without giving a reply.

When he awoke Zelos obviously wasn't there. And it wasn't the time that he was normally rudely awakened to. A note lay upon an outfit that he had never before seen, and he wormed out from under the covers to study it. A red long-sleeved top with double-breasted brass buttons, and a pair of brown overalls. Okay then. Not at all like the maid's outfit. Picking up the note, he frowned a bit.

Lloyd hunny,

We'll be going out today, so put on this outfit like a good little boy. At the moment I'm busy with other matters, so please be ready by noon. I'll even take you out for lunch.

Love,

Zelos (this of course was signed very fancily)

PS: If you're a good boy, I think I'll help you out there. It has been a while since you've had the chance to whack off, right?

Blushing vibrantly did he curse the red-head's name, only to realize that he was right. It had been quite a while since he'd had the chance to do any such thing, and currently he could've gotten hard at the slightest show of skin. Or, like it had been last night, the whole touching of his cock...he swallowed and looked towards the rack of porn. Maybe...no! He began changing into the outfit, even if he knew he had quite a while before he really had to get dressed and prepared.

Spending most of his time thinking about random things while idly and absently stroking himself through his pants, he was startled out of such a stupor by the door opening. Zelos appeared to have just come out of the shower. Probably was playing with one of his girls again Lloyd thought to himself as he sat up.

"Ah, good boy, Lloyd! You did as you were asked! Mn, now, we have a bit of time before my limo driver will be finished..." he wandered over to the younger male and pushed him back down, hand immedietally unzipping the pants and pulling them down before Lloyd could protest. Hard from all the touching he had been doing earlier, it was quite hot and erect when it broke free of the pants, and immedietally he flushed and moved to cover it. Hands locked his wrists behind his head, though, and when he was sure he had a good grip there, he allowed one of them to sink to that area and begin to run his thumb over the tip.

"You really need this..." he mused allowed, the amusement evident in his eyes. The erection quivered as he licked the thumb, and then began to trace the entire length.

"N-no! Stop it! C...cut it...out!" he panted, using his free legs to kick at Zelos. Which ultimately caused the red-head to sit on them.

"Look, your dick wants it, Lloyd. Can you see it? Or can you feel it? Feel out it reacts to my every touch?" he was enjoying himself, obviously, and he surprised the shit out of the poor brunette as that same tongue from before flickered across the head of it, making him cry out.

"I said stop!" After engulfing the entire thing into his mouth, he licked his lips and let Lloyd go.

"I suppose I can do that...now pull your pants back on and let's get going." he winked and gave it one last squeeze, getting another jump out of the poor boy. As well as a glare. But he did as he was told, and accompanied Zelos towards the garage.

Turns out that they were going to the mall. Once there, he was indeed allowed to eat whatever he wanted. Zelos was acting much nicer, though did make him call him master and such, since they were out in public. And it wasn't too bad spending time with him. They ate crepes together, and had lots of good food and snacks, and finally they got down to the shopping. Zelos had decided that he had just wanted to go out to the mall, so they wandered around and Zelos bought whatever caught his eye, because he didn't have to worry about money or saving or whatever that was called again, in his words.

At one store, something shining caught his eye and he was forced to stop in his tracks and go back to look at it. Zelos went on talking to himself, not noticing his absense. They were swords. Made to be weilded together, both being light weight katanas made to last. They were expensive, but they were really pretty, and he had always been interested in swords.

"AnLloyd? Llooooyd?" Finally noticing his missing companion, he spun on his heel, and was relieved when he spotted him. Wandering over, he raised an eyebrow. "You okay? What'cha looking at?"

"O-oh! Nothing, it's nothing..." he moved to walk away, but was stopped by a question.

"You're interested in swords, huh? I didn't know that..."

"Uh, yeah...I've liked them all my life. My dad was going to teach me how to use one, when he wasn't so busy with work, but then...well...he kind of..." he trailed off and looked away.

"I take fencing. Though I really don't need a teacher anymore. If you're really interested, I could help you learn the basics." Zelos grinned as Lloyd's eyes lit up, and he took on a new level of cuteness.

"You'd really do that! That would be so awesome! I want to learn how to use swords, Zelos! I do!" In all his excitement he hugged Zelos around the waist, laughing and bouncing slightly. The red-head laughed in turn, and patted his head gently before pulling him off.

"So these ones right here, hm?" he asked, almost laughing again at the furious nod he received. Stepping into the store, it didn't take him too long to come out with the swords all boxed up in a fancy case. "Using two swords...I don't really know how to do that, but I bet the basics are the same for both styles." Maybe Zelos wasn't so bad after all...really, he hadn't done anything too bad today...aside from the little act in the room, but that wasn't really...well, bad...ehm...so it was! But it wasn't! Stopping himself before he lost his mind, he took a deep breath, and smiled at Zelos.

"Thank you so much!" And without any warning he was pulled into a kiss, though it was similar to the one last night, despite what had happened earlier.

"You're welcome, hunny..." he murmured into Lloyd's ear, getting the boy to blush. It was so easy to do that. "Now, how about we go home and try out these swords, hm?" he took Lloyd's hand in his own, entwining their fingers, before beginning to skip off back to where the limo would be waiting for them. This guy was really strange...mean one day, nice the next...sometimes he had to wonder.

A/n: So...tell me how you like it! This is my most popular story yet, too. Hopefully with all this inspiration, I'll be able to finish it hackcough Tell you what, though. If you guys can get this story to have one hundred reviews by the end, I'll do something special XD don't know what, but something. Well, until chapter four!


	4. Even Dolls Have a Heart

A/n: Everyone! - You're doing such a good job with the reviewing! I'm so proud of this story! ;-; you make me feel like the most popular author ever! (well...not really XP there are tons of people out there with more reviews and such XD and they're better writers...) BUT! They can't possibly feel as good as I do! n.n I love you all so very much! Believe it or not, but I wrote this today v.v; I have a new pet, and have been having a bit of trouble...but I managed to finish it! Be happy! Review! And now I talk to you all individually :D

Queenoftheskies16: Indeed, my chapters seem to increase in skill and such as they proceed XD I hope you like fluff!

Sirhcnotilih: TT it cut off the .com portion of your e-mail, so you'll have to give it to me again n.n; otherwise, I'll e-mail you ASAP.

Cami of Queenscove: Yes, he does start out pretty mean. But he's supposed to be like that. Someone you really want to hate. Slowly he'll become more and more loveable n.n; all good stories show progress in the characters! So yeah. Hopefully he'll be more the kind of person you like in this chapter. Otherwise, enjoy and sit back until that happens ;

Noriko Sakuma: Yay n.n still reviewing! I always get scared that my reviewers will stop reviewing XD But yes, Zelos does seem a bit like that / he'll change, though, just like I told Cami of Queenscove also, there shall be a lemon! Except...o.O I'll be posting it on a different site, so I don't get in trouble here. But don't worry, the link will be given to all of you :3

Derrangedseal: Another one of my beloved reviewers :p hug You're much too kind it really isn't all that great. I suppose my style may be different, though. XD and, if you ever put up a story, I'll be sure to read it! Thank you for all the reviews you've given so far!

Animekisekae: Of course! I'm a huge fan of fluff, so I can't have him being mean forever! It's all part of my story :3 please enjoy this chapter!

Hikaru Irving: Eep! You're making me blush! n.n; I'm so very glad that you love it, though! I update every Monday, and the chapters are better if I get more reviews :3 giggle XD kidding! They just...get better on their own. But I do get inspiration from each of my reviews. -; so keep on reading and reviewing, and I'll keep updating!

Freeforall: XD you caught me on the very day I'm supposed to update. I guess that's updating pretty soon, ne?

Sunny-san: I'm very pleased with your review :3 I hope it doesn't sound masochistic or anything, but constructive critiscm is one of my most favorite things to receive XD yours is one of the closest I've gotten to that. It's also very heart warming to know that my story could alter someone's point of view, or at least, go against what they know to be the normal. That's what I strive to do, actually X3 make you feel a certain way. But ah, thank you for the review. I hope the characters are in character enough to keep all Tales of Symphonia fans reading XD but original enough to give life to my story. Make sure to review again! I'd really appreciate it.

Yes, thank you everyone! I love you all :D and if you ever wish to chat, I'm very open to e-mails X3 because new friends are always welcome! I need more Tales of Symphonia, and yaoi loving, people to be my friends o.o so drop me a line! And a review XD

Warning: Fluffy! Cute! And lots of other stuff!

Chapter four, Even Dolls Have a Heart

Never had he thought that swordsplay would be so very, very hard. Never. That's why he always asked himself if he could really trust Zelos every night before he went to sleep. It turns out that for a few hours every day, the red-head would go out into the gardens and practice with his sword. So first he would sit and watch Zelos basically showing off, and then would be forced to do difficult tasks to build strength and endurance and such. Finally he would get to hold his swords for a few seconds. Then it was time to go off and do whatever else Zelos had in mind, whether it be going places, or just following a few orders (they had gotten easier, though, for some reason). Always pulled between thoughts of his master, it was getting harder to understand what he really thought of him. Quite often was he put in positions like the other day...and slowly he was feeling himself begin to relax instead of tense up. That's what scared him the most.

Every morning now he seemed to get the same wake-up call. An obnoxious and overly hyper Zelos pounced on him like a dog and began licking every inch of his face with constant cries of his name, and that he should wake up. Well, today he had outsmarted that red-head! There was a pillow hidden under his blankets instead of himself, and he was safe outside the room, pressed against the wall with his own little grin. Praising himself, he didn't see the said male walking over with a raised eyebrow, until Zelos had pressed him up against the wall and stuck his tongue past his open lips to drag it over his teeth. Lloyd had squirmed violently in attempts to get himself free, and made quite a few noises in protest, however, he was not a match for the older male's strength. Not only that, but his resolve crumbled before he knew it. Just as he was preparing himself to kiss back, the lips were gone, as was the tongue, leaving his mouth feeling slightly cold and empty.

"Morning bedhead," Zelos murmured into his ear, ruffling his hair before winking and wandering off to go do...God knows what. Lloyd turned a peculiar shade of red, the proceeded to run off in search of something to do. Why were there butterflies in his stomach, and nothing similar to a coherent thought at all in his brain? Only that longing feeling to have lips upon his once again. Those two, warm lips...

Throughout the day he hid from Zelos, even when his name was specifically called. He couldn't have those feelings returning! Even if they did every time he saw those lovely blue eyes, or a lock of red hair...oh great. Now he was acting like a school girl, obsessing over Zelos' looks. He wasn't even gay! Nu-uh! No way! Guys weren't attractive at all! He wanted a wife and children, and...and...his name was being called again in that voice...

"Lloyd, I swear if you don't get out here already, I'm going to...do really bad things!"

Before he could stop himself, he moved out of his hiding place and waved with a happy smile.

"Zelos! I was looking for you! It gets really hard to find people here..." he was cut off as the red-head pounced on him and forced him to the floor. Lips tickled his neck and ear, causing his cheeks to light up, and blood to begin filling other areas as well.

"If you ever pull that stunt again..." one finger had been tracing down his back, and Lloyd emitted a bit of a yelp as it was pushed and fairly roughly into the crack behind him. It was enough to make him squirm and claw at the ground with a bit of a whimper of Zelos' name.

"It hurts, doesn't it? This is what it feels like, in my chest, to know that you were hiding from me. Why were you hiding, Lloyd?" There was evident hurt in Zelos' voice. In fact, there had to be more emotion in it than Lloyd had ever heard before. It surprised him, and he had hardly realized that he had been turned around, and was now cradled against the same chest that he had been when he had cried all those days ago. "I was worried that...maybe you had run away, and gotten lost out there and I wouldn't see you again. Don't...don't ever do that to me."

"Zelos, I" Stopping in his tracks, he noticed the butler looking at them. Of course, he didn't portray any emotion.

"Master Zelos, there's someone here to see you. She says that you called her about today..." Lloyd was surprised. Zelos hadn't had a girl over in a few days. But a kiss was placed quickly upon his lips, and the weight was gone, off his chest without another word. There was quite a bit of lonliness in him when he realized that Zelos had left, and hadn't said anything else to him. Nothing. Maybe that would have at least eased his pain, if only by a fraction. Visiting one of the maids, he got himself a sticky note and pen, scribbling down that he had gone out, and would be back later sometime, only to place it upon Zelos' pillow and leave without telling anyone else.

Names of the people he used to hang out with flickered through his mind as he placed his hands in his pockets and made his way to the nearest bus stop. No point in asking Zelos' chauffer to take him anywhere without Zelos by his side. No matter how he wished not to, he had to admit that it was really only that red-head that he wanted to see. But he was already on the bus, moving towards those familiar houses.

Before he had always thought that his best friend's house was the biggest ever. Especially compared to his house, that is. Having only a sister to take care of him, the house that they lived in was a pretty big accomplishment as well. Moving up to the friendly white door, he could only stare at it for the longest of moments before pressing the doorbell. It was one of those real sounding ones. Not the annoying machanical ones. Memories of how they used to play with the doorbell flooded back, and he couldn't help but smile. Then the door opened with the sound of,

"Don't worry Raine, I've got iLloyd!" Of course it was the silver-haired boy from class. His best friend. But the surprise in his voice wasn't only because he hadn't seen Lloyd in a while, but because he had forgotten to change out of his outfit.

"What in...what are you wearing!" That caused Lloyd to blush heavily, and he looked away and sighed.

"Just let me in. I'll explain."

"You better..." was his answer as he was allowed inside the house. Raine, their teacher, as well as the younger one's sister, had come to see what was going on after the exclaimation. As Lloyd stepped into the house, she placed a hand over her mouth to surpress her giggles.

"Wh-why Lloyd...it...it's a pleasure to see you." she managed, obviously trying very hard to keep a straight face.

"Yes, and you too, Raine..." Lloyd murmured darkly, sitting down upon one of their nice couches while Raine's brother gave his sister a bit of his own cross look.

"Lloyd, where have you been? It's been ages since you've gone to school, and everyone thinks you've died." sitting next to Lloyd, the silver-haired boy got a serious look, while Raine nodded and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's really harming your grade, if that's even possible..."

"Well...my father...died. So...I've been looking for work to keep the house, because I don't want to move away from you guys. The only job I could find was one involving becoming a servant for this really perverted guy..." he was going to add in how handsome the guy looked, but decided against it, instead looking away. "Now he's also my gaurdian, I guess, or that's what he says. I can't stand him, though."

"Has he done anything really bad to you? Lloyd, we can call the cops and have him arrested. You are underage, you know."

"That's the whole reason why I can't, Genis!" Shaking the silver-haired boy by his shoulders, he sighed, releasing him when Raine threatened to hit him. "They'll put me in a foster home...and he really hasn't done anything that bad." Not counting the fact that he...no! He hated it! It was horrible! He was just saying that so they would drop it.

"This is a really bad situation to be in. We'll adopt you and everything, but..." Genis began, but was cut off by his sister.

"Adopt him? I don't think there's enough room in this house..."

"But Raine! What'll Lloyd do? We can't just leave him..." Silence filled the house, and Lloyd shifted uneasily on the couch. Perhaps it was a bad idea to have come here, or to at least have told them about what was going on.

"Come on guys, drop it. I'm fine. And I need to go catch a bus back, so I'll talk to you later." Without waiting for a reply, Lloyd hurried out of the house, and into the street, not running to the bus stop, but instead towards where he knew his empty house would be standing. While he was out and roaming, he wanted badly to check on it again. Maybe...he'd wake up, and this would all be one really long, really bad dream. Dad would be downstairs with his coffee and the newspaper, telling him that it was time to get his lazy butt to school before he was late. Like his dad always said, if he couldn't get good grades, he might as well just get grades. Someday he would learn something useful. The old shack-like house came within sight, and he stopped in front of it. Just like how he left it. Smiling a bit, he wondered when they would notice that he wasn't paying those bills, and come to evict him. Only, he wouldn't be here, and they would be confused. How fun that would be to watch. A sigh escaped his lips, and he felt that it was too painful to go inside. The picture wouldn't be in there, dad wouldn't be in there...it just wouldn't be his house anymore. He...didn't have a house anymore...the thought made his heart wrench inside his chest, and his eyes become hot. Slowly his lithe body began to crumple underneath its own weight and he fell to his knees in the half-dead grass, hardly noticing the few cuts he got on his knees through the pantyhose, too busy covering his eyes as he began to cry like a little baby. Luckily the street was hardly busy, and people hardly went out of their houses.

"I...I have...no home...there's...no where I can go...anymore...D-dad..." he whimpered, trying his hardest to be quiet. Through this whirr of thoughts and feelings, he didn't even notice the sound of a car pulling up.

"Lloyd?" the call evaded his ears, and still did he just sit there crying, and murmuring over his loss of a home. But soon, he felt very familiar and comforting arms around him, and a cheek atop his head. No questions needed to be asked about how he was found, he only knew that he was cared for enough to be found. And that filled him with warmth, despite the feeling of the blanket of night closing in, and chills pushing past his skimpy clothing.

"Shh, you have a home," was whispered in his ear, and he could only shake his head in reply. No, he didn't...and no, he didn't want to give in to those strong arms, those warm arms, those comforting arms...

"Yes, you do. Your home is with me, back at the mansion. Please, don't ever leave it again without me..." The voice was so soft...

"B-but...my home...my dad...everything...I don't belong with..." They were both guys! Of course he didn't belong with Zelos. As much as he felt like he wanted to, for now he could understand this feeling a bit more...It's desire, he thought. Desire to be with him, just as my thoughts always revolve around him.

"Of course you belong with me. Why ever would you say that you don't?" There was a lot of curiousity and worry in the voice, and one finger brushed away the tears. Somehow that stopped the rest of them from coming, and he felt better. But he knew it was wrong.

"Guys...we're both..." Lloyd took a shallow breath, shaking a bit in the process. Had he just given his feelings away?

"So? Liking a guy is just like liking a girl. You don't have to be gay to fall in love with a guy. In fact, you're only gay if you're attracted to only guys, and only get crushes on guys, and have no sexual interest in girls. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being gay. You like who you like. It's better to think that way then to force yourself to look at girls, and pretend you like them, and even to have sex with them just because you don't want to admit to yourself who you really like." There was a bit of sadness in his voice as he spoke, but it had to be one of the most mature things he had said since Lloyd had met him.

"R...eally...?" Lloyd asked, sniffling a bit and turning to look at those beautiful eyes he had grown to live for. That and his voice, and his smile, and just about everything else that involved Zelos. It made him want to smack himself, so he did it mentally.

"Yeah. So just chill." he smiled a bit and ruffled Lloyd's hair, getting the brunette to laugh a bit. Their embrace became tighter, and a few kisses was littered upon Lloyd's forehead.

"I may not be a daddy or anything, but I'm still a Zelos. Hopefully that'll be enough to please you." he winked a bit and laughed himself. Okay, so now he was starting to sound like the dumb red-head that he was. Lloyd stuck his tongue out at Zelos, but cuddled close to him.

"It's not like I'm a daddy's boy. Don't worry about me. I just needed to get that out of my system. I mean, I'm seventeen. I can live perfectly fine, all on my own." Suddenly two hot lips were pressed tight against his, and he made a slight muffled sound of surprise. But he didn't fight it this time, merely allowing them to caress his own in a bit of a firey manner. Slowly he began to relax even further, and this time he was able to kiss back before Zelos pulled away, but found himself breathless when he did so. Zelos was grinning widely at Lloyd for the longest of times...and then his expression became quite serious.

"You could live on your own...but...please don't. I want you to live with me, okay?" Surprised by the seriousness, and tenderness, of Zelos' voice he blushed slightly and looked at the grass.

"...It depends." he said after a moment, brown eyes meeting blue ones once again after a moment of pause.

"Yeah?" Zelos asked, cocking his head to one side and raising an eyebrow.

"Will you sleep with any more girls, even though you don't want to?" The red-head was obviously surprised beyond reason at this, his eyes widening...but after a few moments his surprised look turned into a smile.

"Of course I will." Zelos pinned Lloyd on the ground, licking at his neck. "But that means I get to touch you, and you can't tell me to stop." With a pout, Lloyd sighed. Really, he didn't mind, he was just a bit nervous about it.

"Sure, whatever." Looking away, he pawed at Zelos' nose.

"Hey...why don't we go back to our home...together?" the question caught Lloyd by surprise, and he felt his heart melt a bit.

"Okay! Race you to the car!" Both shared a laugh, and even if they didn't really race, they held hands all the way to the car, and all the way back to their shared home.

A/n: I could just end it there XD but you see, it is not the ending. For I have yet to include the lemon, and there are other things in store. Such as, they haven't said, "I love you" yet. But there might only be two to three more chapters left v.v I'm sad to say. Maybe I'll actually finish this one, though! However...I believe I've figured out a reward for one hundred reviews :3 how would you all like another story from me? This one has done so well that I think I wouldn't mind doing another. It would be a Tales of Symphonia one, and filled with yaoi (Lloyd and Zelos as the pairing, again) and probably an AU. And would be rated R, and have the lemon on the same site as I'll be putting this one XD think about it. Until next Monday!


	5. Toys Get Lost

A/n: I am sooo sorry TT I know this is a day late. My stomach acted up and I had a horrible headache, so I was sitting here on the date this was due, attempted to write something, and then I kinda died o.O; so yeah. v.v; that's why this one is longer! Ta da! please forgive me.

Addie-chan: Thanks sweetheart X3 I know last time you were disappointed that I hadn't answered your review in my chapter, so here it is D I'll even dedicate this one to you enjoy it! ...even if it's slightly violent...mn o.O maybe I'll dedicate the lemon chappie to you...

Animekisekae: Ah, thank you 3 I know it was done in a hurry, so it does seem like that XD hopefully this chapter doesn't have any more of that. But I'd love to hear it if does, so I can keep that in mind during the next chapter! n.n

Sirhcnotilih: The pictures were beautiful. Thank you! I'm very sorry I didn't finish this one in time for you to proofread, but next chapter I shall! x.X;

Queenoftheskies: This chapter isn't so happy x I hope you still like it anyway. I'll make the next chapter really happy to make up for it n.n; kay?

Shimagenki: Yeah, I know XD I use wordpad, so I have no spellcheck TT but I have got someone that's willing to proofread for me now n.n so hopefully you'll find less and less XD unfortunately you know about how I just finished this chapter, so they haven't gotten time to check it for me. The lemon is probably going to be either the last, or second to last chapter n.n; but it'll be really sweet and make you go "aww..." XD;; so hang in there!

Hikaru Irving: Awe, your reviews are always so inspiring D thank you thank you! sips some cider as well X3 and I love hugs, so yes. Feel free to smother me p I hope you can say similar things about this chapter, though! n.n;

Camiofqueenscove: XDDDD My, and I was so hoping to satisfy you. Ah, but have patience x Like I said already, the lemon will be either the last or second to last chapter. And will be very sweet XD;; Maybe you'll enjoy this, though? o.o

Noriko Sakuma: We all miss deadlines sometimes XD like me. So no worries 3 just enjoy this chappie. Of course, it really isn't as cute as the last one TT 'm sorry. And of course, I'll be posting the link to the lemon on this site so we can all stare at it in awe -

Orange Neko Sapphire: Aww, thank you D please enjoy the rest of it!

Warnings: Violence, attempted rape.../ not so good things. Please don't kill me.

Chapter five, Toys Get Lost

Over the past handful of days he had found himself giving over to the feelings instead of trying to hide away from Zelos, which resulted in much blushing...but, he liked it. There was something about being around him that just...made everything okay again. Less and less was he thinking about his father, and the red head had even stopped treating him like a slave. Today he had wanted Zelos to go with him to visit his father's grave, and even though the male had been too busy to go with him, he had promised to spend time with him later. This had ended up with Lloyd blushing, so he had hurried out with fast goodbyes.

Even if he was slightly disappointed, he found himself much too busy thinking about how much fun spending some time with Zelos would be. What he failed to realize was that he spent quite a bit of time with his master.

It was a warm spring-like day today, and the trees that lined the sidewalk were in bloom. Trees were nearly bent double with the weight of fruit and flowers, although some petals had been shed to instead float through the warm drafts. This kind of day made one feel like curling up under a good tree in a bed of long, fresh grass and take a nap. Or read a book. Maybe just bask in the sunlight. All in all, it was one of those lazy days and he was very out of it. For a moment he paused and tried to imagine what the graveyard would look like. They had planted cherry blossom trees in the area, so perhaps it would be blanketed by them...

This was most likely the reason why he didn't notice approaching footsteps, and was confused when something solid smacked the back of his head, and his world became black.

The red-head had equally regretted his decision to not go with Lloyd. For now he was being utterly bored by a few old geezers were boring him to death with things he cared nothing about. Heh, and people thought that rich people just sat around and did nothing. They, obviously, were not rich. It was very hectic. And, to make things even more hectic, his butler knocked on the door and peered in, asking for Zelos to step out for a moment.

"Sir, you have a very important message waiting for you." the butler said in his normal drawl. Whether he knew exactly how important it was, his face didn't show it.

"Can't it wait? We're discussing very important matters with Mister Wilder." One of the gentleman scowled and sipped at his tea.

"Now now," Zelos assured with a false smile, standing up. At the moment he was very glad for the inturruption, as he would rather not spend another second with these nagging bonesacks. Oh, wherever had respect for the elders gone? "I'll be back soon. Allow me to take this message. That way we can get it out of our hair." he moved to the door and offered another one of those immensely fake smiles before shutting the door behind him.

"Thank goodness you came! I was about to die in my chair...God, all they do is yammer in that monotone..."

"But sir, I really do have an important letter for you." the butler retained his emotionlessness as he handed the little package to the red-haired male. "The doorbell was rung, and when I answered it, there was only this letter." and then he went off to go take care of other matters. Zelos gave the thing a bit of a weird look before ripping it open, causing the entire thing to spill out on his marble floor. Having only expected a letter to fall out, he was started by the echoing "clack" of a more thick material, which he soon discovered were actually photographs. He fell to his knees, uncaring about any non-existant spots of dirt upon the floor, more interested in the contents of the package. Scribbled upon the front was his name in a thick black marker, and the letters were messily done. One piece of folded paper lay in the ocean of photographs, some turned upwards, others falling upon their faces to reveal the white back, dates strewn upon these surfaces.

One by one he lined them up, with the picture facing upwards, his eyes growing larger with each picture, and his mouth falling open. Each picture was of Lloyd, some of them taken from behind bushes near certain windows, some when Lloyd was getting the mail or the paper, and sometimes even when Lloyd was with Zelos. There were even pictures of them out at the mall. What the hell was this...?

Then he snatched up the letter, fear gripping at his heart. It was hard for him to sit up.

Dear Mister Zelos Wilder,

I have taken a large interest in one of your new workers. I believe that you have, as well. These pictures are just a few of the many I have on my wall. Please, keep them as souveniers. However, I know for a fact that they aren't as good as the real thing. Right now you might or might not realize that he had left your residence merely a few hours ago. And, that he has not returned. How long can one possibly take to do whatever he was doing? Oh, but do not worry. He's only stopped by my place for a bit of a game. Hey, perhaps he'll even want to stay longer. But the choice is yours. By the time you get this, it should be around one o' clock in the afternoon. Come to the following address at two thirty with the following items, and I may give him back to you. Take care until then, Mister Zelos.

The address following that was one everyone knew to be the abandoned business building in the middle of the city. Many "cool" people hung out their and smoked pot or whatever. And the list of items was most confusing. Bandages, a towel, a sewing needle and some thread...what kind of freak was this guy? Thoughts only managed to stay consistent in his head for a few moments, before his twin blue eyes narrowed to slits, and it was obvious that he was very pissed off, just by how rigid his spine was. His butler had come back with some fresh tea for the gentleman, and Zelos stopped him in his tracks.

"My, sir, are you alri"

"That doesn't matter now! Call the police and tell them there's been a kidnapping, and the guy is holding the hostage up at the address on this paper. Then I want all the items listed here placed in my fastest sports car immedietally!"

"As you wish, sir. But what about the gentleman?" the butler gestured to the double doors with his nose.

"Tell them we'll have to reschedule. And cancel anything else that I have planned for today." With that the red-head sped up the stairs to his room, fire in his eyes. Kicking his door open, he tore apart his closet until he found a dusty box that had been covered in other outfits of his. This was his special outfit, obviously. And yet when he took it out, it seemed simple enough. A black tanktop with a low-cut front, baggy white pants that tucked into white and gold boots, along with a sleeveless pink jacket that fell past his knees, and black and pink gloves. All in all, it looked a little...goofy? But it fit him well when he put it on, and he still managed to keep that manliness about him. Of course, that wasn't all that was in the box. Once more he dug inside it, and this time he pulled out a sword in a sheath, two purple tassles dangling from it. No more time was wasted as he placed it at his hip and hurried down the stairs, out to the garage where the butler was waiting. His nicest sports car was all revved up, the stuff placed in the passenger's seat.

"It's been quite a while since I've seen you wear that, sir." the butler said with a smile as he opened the door to the driver's seat for Zelos. Despite his rage, the red-head managed to flash a smile back as he practically flew into the seat.

"Hey, I've got someone to protect." he saluted the butler, whom saluted back, then drove out into the driveway before speeding down the road towards the address.

The building was very run down. One had to wonder why people came here to hang out. But for the moment, that was hardly an issue. About three stories tall, every window was either cracked or broken, perhaps both, in covered in a thick layer of dust to prevent much visibility. At one time there had been a coat of paint upon the building, and now most of it had fallen off to reveal ugly cement walls, all of which were covered in graffiti. It was a dreary place, and all the plants had dried out and shriveled up to give it that dead sort of look. The area itself seemed like a different universe, as there was hardly any noise.

Except for today, that is. After an hour of being unconscious, large brown eyes slowly began to flicker open. Their owner groaned in pain, moving his hands to hold his pounding head...when he found that they wouldn't move. Becoming frantic, he turned his head to look at his hands, even if that shot pain through his skull, and his eyes widened as he noticed his hands and feet were bound, and there was something dry and stale tasting in his mouth. A gag. Everything seemed to hurt, and for some reason the ground around him was wet...it only startled him further when he began to realize that this wetness was also warm and sticky, and when he looked at it...it was actually a puddle of blood! There was a soft whimper that managed to partly get passed his lips, and it was only then that he felt the various cuts stinging along his limbs. What had he gotten into now? Shutting his eyes tight, he attempted not to cry, praying that someone anyone would come save him.

"Yes, that's it, cry for me, my little dove." Cooed some strange, slightly cracked, but undeniably masculine voice. He tried to look for this person, but a sharp pain ran along his spine, and he froze. "Ah, I see you've spotted my rope. We can't have you running away, now can we? But those cuts on your feet should keep you from going anywhere anytime soon." A harsh laugh caused both anger and fear to coarse through his blood.

"But I wonder...have you been able to see yourself yet? I had fun with your outfit. It was much too conservative, darling, so I took my knife and did away with a bit here, and a bit there...now we can see everything! It'll be good for when Zelos comes. I'm sorry I have to be so cruel about it, but I'm going to rape you. And then when he comes in and sees his precious thing broken on the floor, I'll stab him in the back and he can leave with that image." Sounds of disagreement came from the teen as he tried to squirm around, or at least cover himself up a bit...but it was no use. There were too many cuts on his body, and he was in too much pain. Frustrated, he yelled muffled insults into the gag.

"I suppose you don't know what he did to me, all those years ago. We were both younger, and he lost his parents. Our family took him in, and then he betrayed me! He was jealous of our successful life! He slaughtered my parents, and then took all my ideas for products...how do you think he got so rich?" Could...Zelos have done such a thing? No! It wasn't possible! But he was startled out of his thoughts by sirens, and this strange person laughed.

"I knew it! I knew he was going to do this! Well, it's almost time for him to arrive, so allow me to get started..." Lloyd struggled violently against his bonds, hearing the normal "come out with your hands up" order from the police. It only made this strange guy laugh more. And then something more horrible than he could ever imagine happened. Or well, it was just really horrible. He heard the guy drop his pants, and he felt a horrid pressure against his most private rim of muscle and tissue. A gasp attempted to work it's way out, but the gag kept him silent.

Almost immedietally after the police had arrived, the sports care came speeding through, screeching to a hault as soon as possible, and causing him to almost collide with one of the vehicles surrounding the area. Immedietally some cops told him to stay back, that they would handle this, but a sharp glare and flash of the sword at his hip was basically all he needed to get them to shut up.

"What's the situation?" he asked the cheif, taking as much of an air of authority as anyone around here.

"There's someone in there, and our snipers say it's a male. He's got a half-dressed teenage male in there, with various shallow cuts surrounding his body. We think that he's only been talking to the kid, since we got here at least. Other than that he won't answer us, and we haven't seen much movement." Gesturing for his hidden snipers to check again, the walky talky at his hip sprung to life.

"Sir! The situation is bad! Our guy has just removed his pants and has advanced on the hostage! We have to do something!" Now that was the final straw. No longer could the red-head wait, and his anger had reached a level of utter danger for the thing causing it. Which was inside that building, touching /his/ Lloyd with that filthy pencil of his. How dare he! A growl was ripped from his lips, and not even five of those strong, fit cops could hold him back as he approached the building, sword drawn and eyes alight with a horrid fire. Not only had he brought a blade to Lloyd's tender flesh, but now he was going to defile him! This he could not stand for! Even the wall would not get in his way, and he got into a position that he himself had learned mustered enough power to knock over an elephant. The only bad thing was that it took a few moments of recovery, in which time you were open. Right now this didn't worry him, as he brought the sword back, ready to fire it like an arrow from a bow. Everyone held their breath, and for one moment there was complete silence. Then with a massive battle cry he thrust the sword all the way through the already damaged wall, causing it to crumble inwards. Luckily the entire building didn't collapse, and only after a few minutes did fear grip his heart. What if the wall had crushed Lloyd? But he was lucky, and as soon as he moved into the building he spotted the two on the other wall, both curious as to what had happened. The man was fat, and fairly old by the looks of it. He had a strange shade of purple hair, and little beady black eyes, hidden behind the most tiny of red specticles. Zelos seemed to recognize him, as his anger only increased. Within a second the sword had been burried in this strange little men, who was still surprised at the entrance Zelos had taken.

"You...traitor..." the man gasped in his horribly scratchy and whiny voice, but the red-head had rushed to Lloyd's side, whom had tears coursing down his face, and was still struggling as if that mystery man was going to do those horrid things to him. In a moment he had undone the clasp that held the gag in Lloyd's mouth, which led to the brunette screaming aloud, his voice hoarse and desperate. The poor boy was traumatized.

"Shh! Lloyd! It's okay! I'm here! No one's going to hurt you now!" Something wrenched in his heart so painfully that he himself almost cried as he gently lifted the trembling boy to his chest. Then he untied the horribly tight ropes binding his feet and legs, and like a mother to a child, Lloyd clung to Zelos and began sobbing into his chest.

"The blood...pain...so much pain...a-and the rape...wanted to rape me...Zelos..." he managed to get out inbetween sobs, not caring at all that he was crying. It wasn't everyday you were kidnapped and about to be raped.

"Shhh..." Zelos rubbed his back in attempts to comfort him, his eyes growing soft before he turned them again to the dying old man. "The only traitor here is you, Rodyle."

"Me?" Rodyle snorted, clutched the wound with one hand. "You...you were the one that...that slaughtered them...! Took my ideas...and ran...you did.../you, Zelos, are the traitor...!" he coughed, and luckily what he coughed up was out of sight, but it still made Zelos wince a bit.

"I did no such thing! I suppose they didn't tell you, then. Your father had lost his job and came home drunk that night, killed your mother, killed one of the police men who tried to stop him, then attempted to murder you. Luckily you survived, though he stole your ideas. You blamed it on me because you were always weak and desperate. Always had to blame someone else, or make up something to comfort yourself." he scowled, but softened a bit at the horror on Rodyle's face.

"Fa...ther...? No...but..." he coughed again, and rested upon the ground. "Zelos...I had thought...for so long, that you...were jealous of...me...but...but I see the compassion...in your eyes...for that boy...and it is I...that feels jealous. You were...my only friend. I was stupid...to assume...and lose you forever...please, tell me," he gasped for breath, clawing at the ground a bit in hopes that it would give him a few more moments. "that you will...accept...my apologies...and...allow...me to part...from this earth...with the forgiveness...from...my one...good...friend..." obviously it was getting harder for him to speak, and even hold on.

"I accept your apologies, Rodyle. Even if I'm not very happy with what you did. I will indeed be your friend again." he smiled, and the only answer he got back from the other male was the gesture in return, although it was pained, it was very happy. Even in death, he still wore that smile, and Zelos couldn't help but feel more at peace than before. Then he picked up Lloyd and held him close, the boy still trembling, though his tears had dried, and carried him back to the sports car. He hardly noticed the police that filed into the building, or anyone that wanted to ask him what had gone on in there. Gently he placed the brunette in the car, tossing all those things that he knew he'd be using back at hom into the tiny area behind the two seats, and climbed into the driver's one.

He got a peculiar feeling as he put the key in the ingnition and revved the engine. No matter how horrible that experience was, for some reason...he felt closer to the boy that sat in the seat beside him, bleeding and whimpering. But there was no time for that. He had to get Lloyd to a doctor, or somewhere...

A/n: I know x.x I'm so very horrid. But I had to do it o because I want them to be closer. I also know that the whole thing with Rodyle and Zelos was weird, confusing, and even more weird XDDD I'm sooo sorry. That's what I get for not getting much sleep o.O; I know you all are going to flame me for this ToT so sorryyyyy. Maybe if I had thought it out a bit more...XP;; ehm. Yeah. 'till next Monday. For I will post it on Monday, not Tuesday.


	6. Fixing the Broken Pieces

A/n: At first I was really worried that not only was the last chapter bad and late, but it wasn't going to get many reviews n.n; hee, thank you for managing to get me some in, even if they were at the last moment D they really helped get this bit out, and even though I still think the other chapter was horrible, it was so nice to see that everyone else thought differently. Now I'm so close to the ending, I might just cry. I'm going to miss writing this story so much...sniffle Here, I'll put up the review responses now before I get too emotional...

Sirhcnotilih: I thought we were sending e-mails for a while n.n;; and then I got a bit too busy. But thank you for your kind comments.

Queenoftheskies: Aww x well, no more sad chapters in this story! This one is actually very sweet, I think. Being the sissy that I am, I nearly cried just writing it. XD of course you might feel differently, but enjoy anyway!

Orange Neko Sapphire: Your review was very helpful 3 I like it when people tell me which parts they liked the most and such. Also, I'm glad you liked that bit, as I was scared people were going to hate it. this chapter is very romantic, so hopefully it'll be a good follow up for the last one.

Sunny-san: As long as they're close enough to the real characters that you don't hate me for ever writing this story because it's so OoC, then I know I'm doing an okay job. XD; and I really do hope you'll be able to read my next fanfic, if I ever manage to get to one. It'll be another AU, since I only really write those, and will actually be more sad. Hopefully longer, too. Anyway, you're doing a great job with the heads up about how I'm doing D can't wait until your next review!

Noriko Sakuma: Creepy? XD I expected hard to follow and stupid and such. But as long as it entertained you enough to want to keep reading, then I'm good 3 the chapter after this is going to be the lemon wasn't supposed to let that slip until the bottom A/n so enjoy this chapter, and tell me if it's emotional enough!

Derrangedseal: Sudden in a good way, or sudden in a bad way? I'm glad you could understand it, though. n.n; and it was mainly to get them closer together. D I'm also very glad you're noticing how the characters are changing. One of my main focuses in this story has been to show the changes the characters go through. Hee, and forgetting is okay, as long as you don't do it again XD; just kidding. Enjoy this chappie!

Hikaru Irving: Believe it or not, I haven't seen much of him yet because... I'm still on the first disk of the game. waiting for a certain friend to visit again so they can continue the game n.n; otherwise I probably would have known that XD but we can skip that little tidbit and say that in my story he's fat. Just because we want to be even more nasty to poor little Lloyd. Hee, I'm glad my attempts to make him really creepy and stalker-like worked! Here's the next chapter! 3

Shooting star: I hope I can please you with my ending. It's going to be sweet, I can assure you. Also, thanks for the compliment about Zelos. I haven't seen too much of him in the game (see Hikaru Irving's reply thing XD) so I'm really not all that sure how in character he is. Anyway, lemme shut up and let you get to the chapter now. n.n;

Disclaimer: I don't own them x I just make them do the fun stuff we all love to read about.

Chapter six, Fixing the Broken Pieces

It was hot rays of sunlight upon his eyelids that caused them to flicker open. Well, that and the soft sound of his name being uttered in a hushed manner from familiar lips. Hissing softly in pain as he attempted to sit up in the strange confines of a high-up bed covered in thin white sheets. A slightly lumpy pillow supported his head, the front of the bed higher up than the areas his body rested upon. Looking over, he was almost shocked out of the bed by a plastic tube leading from his arm to a bag of liquid, held upright by a strange metal rack-type thing.

"Calm down, Lloyd, you're only in the hospital!" the voice immedietally got him to calm down, and he was taken into a light embrace by the red-head he had known spoke earlier.

"Zelos, why do I hurt so much?" he coughed a bit, pressing a hand to his throat as it was much too scratchy and dry for his liking. A glass of water was held to his lips, and he drank deeply with much gratitude in his large brown eyes.

"Don't you remember? Rodyle kidnapped you, and sliced you up a bit." Zelos offered a sad half-smile in attempts to comfort Lloyd, or at least to lighten the mood. Mayhap it was to comfort himself. Pushing the water away, Lloyd coughed again, and Zelos tensed up, ready to press the button to call the nurse at any moment.

"I'm fine..." the brunette managed, smiling about as weakly as Zelos was. "Thank you...for saving me. He...was going to rape me, and then kill you, and I don't think that...I would have been able to stand that." his voice was still soft and fairly weak, but the genuine gratitude did not faulter. The red-head took a seat on the edge of Lloyd's bed.

"You had me really worried. I was starting to think that you were going to go insane from the trauma, and then you didn't wake up for three days after I brought you here..."

"It's been three days!" Lloyd exclaimed, gaping. Had Zelos stayed here by his side the entire time...?

"Yeah. They told me to leave, but...I was too scared that you might have a fit or something, and I wouldn't be here to help you through it...or I would miss getting to see you wake-up." Touched by Zelos' words, Lloyd blushed a bit and looked around his room. There were flowers and toys, even candies for him. For some reason he got the feeling they were all from Zelos.

"Aren't you tired?" Lloyd asked after a moment of thinking, finally allowing his gaze to return to the older male. Something had changed between them, he noted. Maybe it was that gentle way Zelos looked at him, blue eyes so understanding and caring that it caused shivers of excitement to run down his back everytime he made contact with them. However, there also seemed to be a deeper bond between them...now he felt he rested so much trust upon those strong shoulders.

"Only a little." before Lloyd could answer, the doctor came in after a sharp knock to the door, startling them both visibly.

"Wonderful, he's awake." the doctor smiled and walked over to the bed, beginning to inspect the wounds. Some of them were in places that made Zelos twitch when the doctor looked at them, and Lloyd blush a bit uncomfortably, but he stopped after fairly quickly. "Looks like you're healing just fine. In fact, I bet you can go home now. Would you like that?" ruffling Lloyd's hair, the brunette grinned and nodded.

"Yes, I would!" he answered, making the doctor laugh a bit.

"I thought so I'll sign everything to let you go, and you can get on home. Remember to drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest, and take it easy. Don't push yourself. Also, try to eat easy to digest foods, in case you were thrown around a bit too much to handle anything too solid. By the way, we'll let you keep the gown for now, since your clothing was fairly destroyed from the incident." winking a bit, the doctor left to go take care of anything, while Zelos immedietally picked up Lloyd and proceeded to carry him out.

The car ride back to the house was spent in a fairly comfortable silence, Lloyd watching Zelos with a bit of an idly smile, and Zelos shooting him a comforting look every now and then. When they stopped the red-head picked him up again, and brough him straight to his room to place him in the bed. Soon after doing so he joined the brunette under the covers, one hand draped lightly over his waist.

"I was scared I wasn't going to see you again." Lloyd murmured after a while, feeling close to sleep, even if he had just woken up a while ago. His body was still fairly weak from the whole incident, though he did manage to worm around a bit to get that silly hospital gown off.

"I would never let anything happen to you...though I'm sorry that what did happen...happened." Zelos sounded truly depressed that he couldn't stop Rodyle from inflicting pain upon the teen in his arms, but Lloyd turned around to face him, nude now, and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Don't worry, it isn't your fault. I don't blame you for anything. I shouldn't have been wandering around all on my own. Even then it was something that would be fairly hard to avoid." Lloyd smiled, and Zelos managed to see it despite the fairly dim light in the room.

"You're too kind." Zelos replied, but it fell upon deaf ears, as the brunette had already fallen asleep, cuddled against the male's chest. Slowly a smile of his own worked its way upon his face, and he allowed his own eyes to close. Oh how he had missed this. But everything had been cancelled for a while, so he had some time to spend with the boy he loved in his arms.

Many of the following days were fairly monotone in their events, as Zelos stayed at Lloyd's bedside (well, it was actually his bed, but oh well) nearly 24/7, having the cook bring soups up for Lloyd when ever he was hungry, and get him pain relievers if something hurt most unbearably, helping him to the bathroom if he needed to go, and even giving him spongebaths. Of course this was both of their favorite part of the day, and Zelos commented once that he was sorry Lloyd only needed one bath a day. Aside from that, Lloyd slept most of the time, and Zelos caught up on his reading. Or well...he kind of did. Most of that time was spent checking on the brunette in case anything had happened in the past second or so.

Finally it came to the day when Lloyd grew so sick of being in bed that he ignored the scars on his feet and got out of bed, flailing a bit. Zelos paniced and began to bring him back to the bed when Lloyd cried for him to stop.

"It doesn't hurt anymore! And besides...my muscles will turn to jelly if I don't get some excersize. Sitting in bed all the time is bad for them, and it's actually been proven that moving around helps you heal faster." Silence followed for a few minutes after the statement...or more like, plea, to be allowed his freedom.

"I'm just worried about you." Zelos murmured in Lloyd's ear as he brought him into a hug, but no longer protested against him being up. In reality he wanted him to be able to move and such again, as there were places he wanted to take him to, and things he wanted to reveal to him at those places.

"I know you are, but I'm really okay." Lloyd had smiled at him, and gently pulled him into a kiss. This time it was upon the lips, and brunette blushed soon afterwards. Without waiting for any more comments out of the pleased red-head, he took his hand, entwining their fingers as they made their way down to the first floor. The pace was very slow, and Lloyd had to stop many a time on the way there to lean against either Zelos or the wall, but finally they made it, and instead of eating soup in an awkward position on the bed, Lloyd brought Zelos to the dining room, and the cook made them both simple sandwhiches. Of which the brunette enjoyed quite vocally, as soup really gets old if one eats it regularly, no matter what kinds of soup you have to choose from.

After their bit of lunch they took tea in the gardens and talked about their lives before they had met, laughing together, and fighting tears together. But both had smiles the entire time, even when they sat in silence for an hour or two, watching birds flutter through the trees, bent double with blossoms and fruit. Lloyd even had the energy to get up and play tag with Zelos for a little. They laughed together and frolicked at a casual pace despite the game they played, hiding behind bushes and trees before allowing themselves to be spotted and chased down, sweat breaking out in a sheen of miniature diamonds across their pale forheads in the warm weather of the spring day. Then both collapsed together in the shade of an apple tree, one hand from each of the males connecting the seperate bodies. But any passerby with a trained eye could see that there was not two people lying in the emerald locks of Mother Earth, but only one, or at least, two beginning to merge into one. Lovers. They acted like it, and yet would not call themselves such. Visibly could someone tell that that was what they wanted.

"I want an apple." Lloyd stated quite randomly, one hand reaching up towards the branches of the tree as if to call forth such a fruit to his palm.

"That's nice." Zelos grinned, his tone playful.

"That's nice? What about, 'your wish is my command, Lloyd, and I shall retrieve an apple for you'?" The brunette rolled a bit so that he lay on top of the red-head, large brown eyes sparkling in the patches of sunlight that burst through the rooftop of green and brown above. It was funny how such intense heat could meld the colors together, making it more like an abstract painting than a real spring day. It was during times like these that one wished the summer to be prolonged for quite a while.

"You didn't ask nicely." The older male replied, feigning a pout as he spun their positions around so that he was the one on top.

"Fine. Please may I have an apple, Zelos?" It was Lloyd's turn to pout, dark pink lip thrust outwards as his arms managed to cross on his chest despite the added weight the red-head provided.

"As you wish," This time it was a wink that Zelos offered as he climbed off of Lloyd and walked closer to the trunk of the tree, raising one fist as his eyes narrowed. With one loud call he had punched the tree, managing to leave a dent. For a moment it only shook, and then finally a few apples fell from the branches, coming loose from the intense blow. Lloyd clapped his hands enthusiastically, and had even gotten on his knees, eyes wider than normal with amazement.

"Wow, Zelos! You're so cool, and really strong! You didn't even have to climb the tree!" No reply was given immedietally as said red-head scooped up one of the fallen apples and rubbed it with his sleeve before bowing in front of Lloyd and offering the fruit to him. Lloyd laughed a bit and pounced on Zelos, hugging him around the neck. "I can't eat all of it. So let's share!" Thus they both took turns nibbling off the red apple, Lloyd blushing every now and then.

Once again he was bed ridden for a few days until the frustration broke out like before, and he forced Zelos to take him somewhere. Of course there were no protests, and Zelos dressed him up in something nice, placing an equally nice outfit on himself. It led Lloyd to wonder where they were going to go, but he didn't ask any questions, even when he was led to a limo and sat beside Zelos. Only when they stopped at the obviously expensive and very popular restaurant did he gape openly, and almost fall over himself as Zelos brought him to the entrance.

A table was reserved for them, almost as if the red-head knew that Lloyd was going to want to go somewhere, and it was right by a window overlooking the sea. It was fairly late in the afternoon, and the sun was riding just above the waves, turn them a lovely shade of orange and pink, as well as the surrounding clouds.

"Pick whatever you'd like from the menu," Zelos told him before they were both seated, and said menus were placed in front of them. Lloyd nearly choked at the prices, but said nothing, startled out of his studying of the dishes by an arm around his shoulders. After realizing it was Zelos, he nuzzled closer to the red-head. Both were silent for most of the first portion of dinner, listening to the live classical music being played in the center of the restaurant, the players upon a raised portion with a fountain in the very center, as well as real live plants. As they slowed down with their eating and cuddled a bit more, Zelos surprised Lloyd with what appeared to be normal conversation at first, that is.

"Have you been feeling better, Lloyd?" he started out, blue eyes locking upon brown ones in a most intence fashion.

"Y-yes, I have...thank you for taking such good care of me." Lloyd managed a smile, but it wasn't returned. Why was Zelos so...serious looking right now?

"I'm glad. You seem to have healed quickly, too. Is there a lot of pain?"

"No, not anymore..." Studying the eyes that searched deeply within his own, Lloyd realized that it was not fear that he felt, but merely an overwhelming mixture of love, and that weird feeling you get when you feel your soul is being searched by that person you feel so much love for. He swallowed, and didn't notice lips coming closer to his own until they were touching. Eyes widdening, he looked about with fear. They were in a public place, weren't they? No one seemed to notice or care, so he allowed himself to relax and kiss back, though the lips were soon taken away from his, and he felt slightly empty and disappointed.

"There is something I've been waiting to tell you...but I wanted you to feel better, so that you could really think this over." So that had been the reason they had come here. Butterflies hatched in his stomach, and he wormed around a bit on the seat.

"Shoot..." he murmured, slightly unsure.

"Lloyd, at first I was just toying around with you to be mean, because it was fun to watch your reactions...but...then...I didn't want to be mean. I found that despite how much I had tried to hide my feelings for guys under tons of girls, I had fallen deeply in love with you. If...if it were legal for guys to marry one another here, then I would get on my knee and propose to you. Everything...the money, the mansion, the countless girls...all of that seems to worthless now, where as I was so proud of the life I had built up. All of it seems like a puzzle I've put together, but the most important piece is the one I've lost. But...Lloyd...you're that missing piece. You just...fit into my life so perfectly...no, that sounds stupid. You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. And...it doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, or anything else, because I love you, and I'm not going to let stupid things like that get in the way." All through the little speech were their eyes locked together in an intense gaze, tears pooling underneath Lloyd's at the words he had been wanting to spill for so long. The entire thing was much too emotional for the teenager, and after blinking the tears began to flow, his lips seeking out Zelos' in a passionate kiss. They were tears of happiness, and the kiss had been his response. Arms were wrapped around waists and necks, half-eaten meals forgotten, as well as the environment around them. Only a few minutes at most could they spend like this as Lloyd broke it off, panting to regain his breath.

"Zelos," he whispered breathlessly, tears still running down his cheeks. "I love you, too."

A/n: Nice way to end it, huh? XD If you read all of my responses, then you already know that next chapter is the lemon. Wh00t! The thing we've all been waiting for! 3 it'll be on and you all need to check my profile for the link. I will try and get an author's note up in case you forget, or for some reason, can't see my profile, and hopefully won't chew me out because it's not a real chapter. XD; I know this is a little bit late, too, and such, but Easter and a surprise visit from my aunt and uncle slowed me down a lot ; also, I didn't get to send it to my proofreader TT again. SO SORRY. Bear with the typos for now, please X3; until next Monday!


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